The convoy, which set off from the Russian capital on Tuesday, was finally opened to photographers today, revealing that many of the vehicles are carrying nothing more than a few bags of food or boxes.

Russian officials claim the - though the Ukrainian government has been suspicious from the outset that the convoy - surrounded by military vehicles - is a ploy to increase Moscow's hold over the separatist region.

When asked why so many of the trucks were not fully-loaded, drivers at the camp in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, less than 20 miles from the Ukrainian border, said it was so they could take on extra cargo if any of the other vehicles break down.

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Military presence: Russian Armoured Personnel Carriers line up near the Ukrainian border region of Russia, where the aid convoy has been parked since yesterday

Panorama: The trucks have spent three days on their journey to Ukraine from Russia, and have yet to pass into the country due to a demand for inspections

Cargo? The left truck appears not to be carrying a significant amount of cargo, while the right one is filled with sacks of aid

Just milk: A soldier, standing in a truck which is not heavily loaded, shows a tin of condensed milk - part of the promised aid shipment - to waiting photographers

Where's the rest? Ukraine's government has long been suspicious that the aid convoy from Russia is not all it seems

Sacks of food: A truck driver points out his cargo to journalists who want to inspect the trucks' contents - though many have turned out to be underfilled

Here to help? Ukraine has long suspected the motives of the Russians in sending the aid shipments after allegedly stoking the conflict behind the scenes

Protection: Columns of Russian APCs were seen near the border - with reports that some had crossed into Ukraine under cover of darkness last night

Armoured personnel carriers were earlier seen joining the lorries - and even crossing the Ukrainian border themselves - as Kiev sent its own inspectors into Russia to examine the cargo.

The Russian military presence around the convoy became more evident today, as the Ukrainian government said it had sent in 'large numbers' of border guards to verify the contents of the 262 trucks - which Russia says are full of food and other essentials such as sleeping bags for the rebel city of Lugansk, which is without food, electricity or water.

However, images from the camp today show how little was actually loaded on board - prompting conflicting explanations. Some drivers said trucks were underfilled in case they needed to pick up cargo from broken down comrades, the FInancial Times reported.

Another claimed there was a weight restriction on the vehicles, though some were clearly heavily laden.

Rows on rows of the trucks had come to a standstill in a field by the border town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky yesterday, after Ukrainian prime minister Petro Poroshenko insisted his government be allowed to inspect the cargo, and that anything less would be considered an act of war.

It came as shelling of the rebel stronghold city of Donetsk intensified, where artillery fire killed 11 people yesterday. Many of the city's million-strong population have taken to makeshift bomb shelters and are facing shortages of water and electricity, according to relief agencies.

The city's council announced the new deaths this morning after a night of fierce fighting in the centre and west of the industrial city. Yesterday they said that 74 Donetsk residents had been killed since Monday.

One of the shells launched on the city today struck a gas pipe, sending streams of flame into the sky.

The fate of the Russian convoy now seems more hopeful, after Ukrainian news sources reported that the cargo is now set to pass into the country through the Izvaryne crossing, under the management of Ukraine and European monitors.

But in a bizarre twist it emerged that some of the trucks are practically empty. Reporters allowed inside the vehicles saw stacks of just a few boxes, or isolated bags of grain in the huge cargo holds.

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Drivers at the scene claimed the trucks were underfilled in case some vehicles broke down and needed to hand over their freight.

Kiev has also dispatched its own convoy of 75 aid trucks to the region, which arrived in Starobilsk, a town near the city of Lugansk, which, officials say has long been without power and water.

However, reporters travelling with the convoy said as many as a dozen military vehicles drove straight across the border last night without waiting for inspectors. A correspondent for the Telegraph said the vehicles 'didn't even turn off their headlights'.

Shipment arrived: Aid sent by Ukraine is seen above in the town of Staroblisk, near rebel-held Lugansk, which has been without food and running water

Food parcels: The Ukrainian humanitarian convoy reached its destination after less than 24 hours, while Moscow's is becalmed outside the country

Rival convoy: Ukraine has also dispatched its own fleet of trucks to Lugansk, pictured above being dispatched from the capital Kiev

Ukraine has long claimed that this sort of incursion happens constantly, though Moscow denies it. A Ukrainian spokesman yesterday said: 'These movements into take place practically every day with the aim of provoking [Ukraine]. Last night was no exception. Some armoured vehicles came across. We are checking on the quantity and the number of people who came over.'

NATO today reacted to the alleged incursion, accusing Russia of hypocrisy if the incursion is verified. A spookesman said: 'If confirmed, they are further evidence that Russia is doing the very opposite of what it's saying. Russia has been escalating the conflict, even as it calls for de-escalation.'

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also spoke out, saying: 'If there are any Russian military personnel or vehicles in eastern Ukraine, they need to be withdrawn immediately or the consequences could be very serious.'

Ukraine has expressed fears that Russia could use the aid shipment as cover for a military incursion in support of the separatists and threatened to use all means necessary to block the convoy if Ukrainian officials and the Red Cross were not allowed to inspect the cargo.

The Ukrainian government threatened to use all means available to block the convoy if the Red Cross was not allowed to inspect the cargo. Such an inspection would ease concerns that Russia could use the aid shipment as cover for a military incursion in support of the separatists, who have come under growing pressure from government troops.

The Russian convoy set out Thursday morning from a military depot in the southern Russian city of Voronezh where it had been parked since late Tuesday. Moscow says the convoy has 262 vehicles, including about 200 trucks carrying aid.

The white trucks, some flying the red flag of Moscow and escorted by military vehicles, drove down a winding highway through sunflower fields and then turned west toward the rebel-held border crossing of Izvaryne.

Heavy arms: A Ukrainian soldier sits atop a self-propelled artillery gun headed towards Donetsk, which has been shelled for several days

Heavy weapons: The Ukrainian artillery pieces were pictured rolling towards Donetsk yesterday as the Kiev government put more pressure on the rebel forces

Angled for destruction: A Ukrainian fighter poises a mortar cannon in a field near Illoviask, a town near Donetsk which has also been under fire

Emplacements: Row on row of mortars, and boxes full of ammunition, were arrayed in the field yesterday at sunset as the offensive intensified

Fields aflame: Ukrainian soldiers patrol the roads as the destruction wrought by artillery cannon can be seen in the distance

But about 17 miles from the border, the trucks pulled off and parked in a large field where dozens of beige tents had been set up. Drivers in matching khaki shorts and shirts piled out stopped for the night.

The route suggested Russia has decided not to abide by a tentative agreement to deliver aid to a government-controlled border checkpoint in the Kharkiv region, where it could more easily be inspected by Ukraine and the Red Cross.

Ukraine fears the convoy could be a pretext for a Russian military invasion or further support for the pro-Russian rebels it has been fighting since April.

After a clumsy and ineffectual start, Ukraine's forces have taken back much of the territory once held by rebels.

As the circle around the separatists tightens, two of their top figures have resigned in the past week. On Thursday, the rebel Donetsk People's Republic said its defense minister Igor Girkin had resigned.

Both Girkin and former rebel prime minister Alexander Borodai, who was replaced last week, are Russians and both were replaced by Ukrainians. Those moves could indicate an attempt by the separatists to distance themselves from allegations by Kiev and the West that Russia supports or directs the insurgency, charges that Russia denies.

Moscow has insisted it coordinate the dispatch of the goods - which it says range from baby food and canned meat to portable generators and sleeping bags - with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Collateral: A separatist soldier looks at the destruction caused by Ukrainian shells, which blew up this gas pipe in Donetsk

Flames: Donetsk is one of Ukraine's industrial heartlands - and declared itself an independent 'People's Republic' several months ago

Bombed out: The pavement outside a history museum in Donetsk could be seen this morning after a day of heavy shelling

Roofless: Munitions fired from Ukrainian positions outside of the city demolished the roof of the museum overnight

Inspection: A Russian convoy driver attends to his truck as he waits alongside more than 200 others to deliver his cargo in Ukraine

Stopped: The trucks halted less than 20 miles from the Russian border. Russians authorities say they are full of food, sleeping bags and emergency generators

Downtime: The drivers of the trucks, all dressed in the same tan t-shirts and shorts, amassed outside their trucks near Kamensk-Shakhtinsky after being ordered to stop

Rolling: The Ukrainian government dispatched its own convoy as tensions rose over the destination - and cargo - of the 262 Russian trucks

ICRC spokeswoman Anastasia Isyuk said talks were continuing but she could not confirm where the Russian convoy was headed.

'The plans keep changing, the discussions are going ahead and we will not confirm for sure until we know an agreement has been reached,' Isyuk said in Geneva.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, addressed hundreds of lawmakers Thursday in the Black Sea resort of Yalta in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in March. He did not speak specifically about the convoy.

In a relatively subdued address, Putin said only that his goal was 'to stop bloodshed in Ukraine as soon as possible.' Moscow should improve life in Ukraine 'without building a wall from the West,' he said, but asserted that Russia would 'not allow anyone to treat us with arrogance.'